hesitates and chugs sometimes

[myold96]

i have a 96 2.3l that hesitates and chugs sometimes when i pull away from a stop sign it acts like it is constipated, no power,then it will pop and take off just fine. other times it works smooth,i put premium gas to clean out the injectors and did a tuneup the only thing i haven't done is a timing belt the truck has 230,000 miles on it and i don't know the previous maintenance history so payday i will change the belt and water pump i also changed the brain box which helped a lot anything else i should try? by the way the check engine light came on and flashed at me for a few minutes i had it checked and it said 3rd cylinder missfire what does this mean,help

 

[RonD]

MAF(mass air flow) sensor tells the computer how much air is coming in so it knows how much fuel to add.
Clean the MAF sensor, read here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/CleanMAF.shtml

Could also be TPS(throttle position sensor), it tells the computer where your foot is on the gas pedal.
You test this with a volt/ohm meter.

Sensors rarely fail, really a waste of money replacing them, a $25 volt/ohm meter will save you hundreds of dollars in replacing perfectly good sensors, lol.

Timing belt slipping will effect the whole engine, but it doesn't self correct, if you lack power from timing belt slip then it is a lack of power 24/7, not just pulling away at a stop light.

Misfire on cylinder #3 means just that, one of the bad things about dual spark plugs is that you often don't know when 1 spark plug fails, there is no misfire until both are having trouble.
So first thing I would do is pull out BOTH #3 spark plugs and see what they look like

 

[drb1956]

misfire

Misfire codes can also tell you that you are NOT getting enough fuel to that particular cylinder-not always the plug being the culprit. Possible bad or going bad-clogged injector. Can check with NOID light or voltmeter to make sure it is getting signal from puter-can remove fuel rail and pull injector(s) out, and change to different cylinder to see if misfire follows-BINGO-bad injector. This before spending money on another injector. Plug is good place to start, and also wires. Do an OHM test with a voltmeter on the wire. Connect to both ends(clip), and wiggle and twist wire gently to see if you get any resistance at all. Just sayin'...